Onion Soup with Apple Puree Broth

This is a weird one but I really love it. You can make this with different types of minor ingredients, the key is the apple puree broth, the very concentrated base, and the sliced onions.

-base-finely chopped:3 carrots1/2 cup celery including leaves1/2 med onion, really finely minced in the case of the base, so that there's a real contrast between them and the onion for the soup part2 beets2 small turnips3 big cloves of garlic1 tbs butter1 tbs olive oil1 tbs Bragg's Liquid Aminoes1/2 bottle of Octoberfest1 quart broth or water (in this case, I used the water used to boil the corn for corn on the cob, so it was a corn broth)1/2 tsp paprikasalt & pepper, seasoning to taste

-soup-8 or so halved and sliced red onionsswiss chard, mostly de-stemmed but I still put in some--score the leaves then chop so that it doesn't end up swampy when you serve it out1 quart broth or water

The base gets well cooked for a long time. I started with heating the oil and butter on med high, just when the butter starts to bubble, add the veggies. Stir to coat them. When you start to smell it, about two minutes in, add the beer, the Bragg's, the seasoning and about a tbs of broth. Stir well and let that cook off and reduce, then add 1/4 cup broth. Stir well to let it reduce then add more broth before it burns. Keep doing this for about 20-30 minutes. Be sure not to let it burn. While the base is cooking, prepare the puree and slice up the onions and the chard. Once the onions and puree are ready, that's probably when the base is good and base-y. (By base-y I mean everything's very tender and the flavor is very concentrated). Add the onions and chard and about 1 cup of water. Heat on high. Get everything stirred well. Let it cook on high and some of the onions at the bottom to caramelize just a tinge, then add the apple puree and enough water to cover everything. Stir well. Bring to a boil. Set to low. Simmer 30-40 minutes until the onion is meltingly tender. You can garnish with cheddar or parmesan or gruyere. It's a different flavor for certain but tasty. It's a lighter, less heavy type of soup than a French Onion, and definitely sweeter, but still on the savory side. (Thanks to Gillian for the description.)